NGAP_FY16_Questions__Answers_GS-00P-15-BSC-1168.doc

GSA – NGAP FY16 Solicitation- GS-00P-15-BSC-1168 Questions and Answers from 8/20/2015 Teleconference and Written Questions Received Prior to the Deadline of 8/25/2015 (5:00 PM EST) Attendees:

GSA Contracting Officer

Ken Shutika NGAP Contracting Officer

Miranda Webster

GSA NGAP

Ken Campbell

Bill Dennison

David Hague

Kristi Dutton

EnerNOC

Erica Martunas

Leidos

Chris McCall BP Energy

Jason Tripp Constellation Energy Services

Ray Suennen

Colonial Energy

David Arrndt

Continuum Energy

Rick Pemberton

Direct Energy Business Mark.

Kevin George

Empire Natural Gas Corp.

Seth Barrows

Energy Mark, LLC

Joe Prezentera

Enspire Energy, LLC

Mary Hensley

Enspire Energy, LLC

David Vantel

Gas South

Denise Dotson

Great Eastern Energy

Heather Ferrante

Interconn Resources

Joe McLean

Mansfield Power & Gas

Thomas Krizmanich

National Fuel Resources

Shelley Spacht

Nicor Enerchange

Bill Wilkey

Novec Energy Solutions, Inc.

Chris Hild

Sage Energy

Cindy Eimen Shell Energy

Courtney Smith

South Jersey Energy Services

Jason Foulds South Jersey Energy Services

Victoria Marchese

Stand Energy

Jeff Clines

Supreme Energy, Inc

Ted Ballison

UGI Energy Services

Erica Hertzog US Energy Services, Inc

Dean Standley

Volunteer Energy

Josh Schluep Washington Gas Energy Services

Martin Cattoni

Questions received during the supplier call

Stand Energy Q1) If we have been approved in the System for Award Management (SAM) do we still need to submit a technical proposal in response to this GSA solicitation?

A1) Yes. Suppliers must be registered in SAM in order to do business with the federal government. GSA requires a complete technical proposal in response to the items listed in Section C.3 of the solicitation in order to evaluate your firm’s technical and financial capability as well as your experience in delivering natural gas to the LDCs included in this solicitation.

Q2) If we submitted a proposal last year do we have to submit a new one this year?

A2) Yes

NICOR Enerchange Q3) Can GSA request bandwidth variances other than 10% under Pricing Option I?

A3) Yes. GSA may request bandwidth variances other than 10% and has active contracts for other bandwidth variances including 25%. The specific bandwidth variance GSA requests for each account will be identified in the Exhibit 1 released in advance of the auction.

Q4) Are all three Pricing Options full requirements?

A4) Yes

Q5) Has GSA ever evaluated whether they are paying a premium for Pricing Option II – 100% swing?

A5) Yes. In many cases GSA requests more than one pricing option for each account so that the premium, if any, for Pricing Option II can be identified. In some cases GSA finds there is no price premium for the same term between Pricing Options I and II and in some cases pricing has come in lower for Pricing Option II.

Enspire Q6) For Pricing Option III, how are volumes above or below the monthly historical volumes provided by GSA handled?

A6) Under Pricing Option III the basis price is fixed at the time of the option for all volumes delivered. If no commodity is locked in then all volumes delivered to meet the full requirements of the account are priced at index. If a portion of the load is locked in at a fixed price during the term of the contract then any variances from the estimated volumes provided by GSA are priced on the remaining index portion. If allof the load is locked in at a fixed price during the term of the contract GSA will work with the awarded supplier and end-use customer to determine whether the fix the price for any variances or price it the volumes at index.

Empire Natural Gas Corp.

Q7) Can supplier submit their technical proposals via e-mail or do they have to be sent hardcopy?

A7) GSA will accept e-mail or hardcopies but prefers e-mail. E-mail submissions should be sent to ken.shutika@gsa.gov.

Interconn Resources Q8) Did anything change in Section C regarding the submittal requirements for technical proposals?

A8) No. Only minor changes have been made to Section C and the submission requirements nor the order they show up in have not changed from the FY15 NGAP solicitation. Note that changes have been made in other sections of the solicitation including the FAR clauses in Section B.

Constellation Energy Services Q9) Section C.5 states that both a hardcopy and e-mail copy of technical proposals are required. Is this accurate?

A9) No. GSA will amend the solicitation to show that either a hardcopy or e-mail copy is required, not both.

Q10) Should suppliers submit information for all of the LDCs they serve that are listed in Section A.1 or just the ones they serve that are listed in the Preliminary Exhibit 1?

A10) At a minimum, suppliers should submit information for the LDCs they plan on bidding on that are listed in the Preliminary Exhibit 1. If you have the time to do so, you may also want to submit information for any other LDCs listed in Section A.1 that your firm also serves. Per Section C.3, approved FY16 suppliers may submit information for additional LDCs up to seven days prior to the date of the auction for that facility.

Questions received via e-mail

Direct Energy Q11) How does the GSA intend to establish contract quantities under pricing for Options I (90 / 110 swing) & III (NYMEX+ with Trigger Rights)?

A11) See Question and Answers #30 and #39 in Attachment 5: Frequently Asked Questions. GSA provides estimated monthly volumes for each account included in the auctions which can be viewed as contract volumes for Pricing Options I, II and III. Note that all three pricing options are for full requirements so suppliers will be required to deliver 100% of each accounts natural gas requirements which likely will be at least slightly different than the historical volumes provided.

Q12) Section A.9 indicates that historical quantities provided are for references purposes only. Does this only apply to pricing Option II (FPR) given that Options I and III require the establishment of monthly base load volumes?

A12) The historical quantities provided apply to all three pricing options. Per Section C.4, the historical load data provided by GSA represents the best estimate available of usage data for each account included in the auctions.

Q13) Would the GSA consider the addition of a contract clause addressing end user curtailment via switching to alternate fuel under pricing Option II?

A13) Section A.26 references that the calculations provided in this section apply to any volumes that must be liquidated based on the facility electing to switch to an alternate fuel source. This applies to all three pricing options.

East Coast Power & Gas Q14) Regarding GSA solicitation GS-00P-15-BSD-1168, where can suppliers find account numbers for the accounts it plans to bid out in FY16?

A14) Account numbers, service addresses, tariffs and additional detailed information will be provided to approved suppliers in the Exhibit 1 files that are posted in advance of each FY16 auction. This information is not included in the Preliminary Exhibit 1 or the solicitation document.

Shell Energy Q15) Some of the facilities listed on the Preliminary Exhibit 1 auction schedule have contracts that end after October 30, 2016 which is the last day of FY16. Why did GSA include these facilities in the FY16 solicitation instead of waiting to include them in the FY17 solicitation?

A15) Per Section C.5, the facilities listed in the Preliminary Exhibit 1 have current contract end dates expiring between October 1, 2015 and January 31, 2017. GSA anticipates running auctions for all of the accounts listed in the Preliminary Exhibit 1 during FY16.

5Linx Q16) Do suppliers have to bid on all of the facilities listed in the Preliminary Exhibit 1 in order to participate in this opportunity?

A16) No. See Question and Answer #2 in Attachment 5: Frequently Asked Questions Sprague Energy Q17) Operational Flow Orders (“OFO”) are defined in A.30 (k) and discussed in Section A.21.

In Section A.21 it is unclear as to what each party’s obligations or rights are during an

OFO event. Please describe whether or not a facility is required to reduce usage, and/or whether the contractor is allowed to pass along the incremental costs associated with an

OFO event.

A17) If an LDC informs the facility of an OFO or curtailment event the facility is required to comply with the OFO or curtailment and reduce usage accordingly. No incremental costs from the supplier should be applicable as only the amount of gas allowed by the LDC will be delivered on behalf of the facility and the price of that gas specified in GSA’s contract.

Q18) In A.20 the term “material change” is discussed. Is the 25% of historical usage material change definition based on a daily, weekly, monthly or annual calculation period?

A18) Monthly

Q19) For Pricing Option I the historical volumes are based on burner tip volumes (see Section

A.9). The supplier delivery point and sales point is typically at the city gate. As most suppliers invoice at the city gate the historical versus invoiced volumes are off by the amount of the utility loss rate. How do we reconcile this volume difference with Pricing

Option 1?

A19) See Question and Answers #44 and #50 in Attachment 5: Frequently Asked Questions

Q20) In A.16 what happens if the parties do not agree on whether or not to extend the full terms and conditions of the contract?

A20) Section A.16 references a bilateral agreement between the government and supplier so if both parties cannot agree on terms and price then the new account will not be added to the contract.

Q21) What happens if there is an LDC initiated account number change and there is a lapse of service? Who is responsible for any volume issues? Refer to A.16.

A21) The government is responsible for providing the supplier proper notice that the account number will be changing so the supplier has sufficient time to keep the account enrolled in accordance with the specific LDCs enrollment requirements. If the government provides proper notice the supplier will be responsible for any volume issues. If the government does not provide proper notice the government will be responsible for any volume issues.

Q22) In Section A.25 are you using a total of 120 days in any 12 month period or are you defining it as 120 consecutive days?

A22) 120 consecutive days

Q23) On page 29 in the Termination for the Governments convenience section it describes how the “Contractor shall be paid a percent of the contract price reflecting the percentage of work performed …”. This language appears to override the language in

A.16 and A.20. Will this sections language be revised? If not then which language controls?

A23) These three sections reference three different contract items and are not in conflict. Section A.16 references deleting and adding facilities and the process for each. Section A.20 references LDC imposed penalties in association with a material change. Termination for the Government’s Convenience references the process for terminating a contract if the government initiates the termination.

Q24) August 20, 2015 is provided as the date that EnerNOC will provide a platform demo for prospective bidders. If a bidder is not available on that date will there be any other options to see the new platform?

A24) As stated during the supplier call on August 20th, EnerNOC will provide a demo of their auction platform to any interested supplier at a time convenient for both EnernNOC and the supplier. Please contact Erica.Martunas@enernoc.com if you are interested in a demonstration of the EnerNOC auction platform.

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